The present invention relates to a fuel adsorbent member that adsorbs evaporative fuel leaking from an engine intake system and an air cleaner including the fuel adsorbent member.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 2002-266713 and 2002-276486, for example, describe typical fuel adsorbent members and air cleaners. In the devices described in these documents, a filter element, which filters intake air, is arranged in a housing in a pleated state. A fuel adsorbent member is provided in the housing at a position downstream from the filter element for adsorbing evaporative fuel leaking from an intake system of an engine. The filter element and the fuel adsorbent member are each arranged in a manner crossing an air passage defined in the air cleaner.
Particularly, the device described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-276486 includes a heat-resistant net provided in the fuel adsorbent member. If the engine backfires, the net blocks a flame caused by the engine backfire to prevent damages to the fuel adsorbent member and the filter element.
However, in each of the devices described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 2002-266713 and 2002-276486, pressure caused by the engine backfire acts to press the fuel adsorbent member against the filter element. This may damage a securing portion of the fuel adsorbent member by which the fuel adsorbent member is secured to the housing. Although the heat-resistant net of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-276486 blocks a flame produced by the engine backfire, the net cannot block the pressure caused by the backfire.
Further, in conventional devices, a filter element is arranged in a pleated state and extends in such a manner as to cross the air passage. Thus, as indicated by the double-dotted broken lines of FIG. 7, intake air expands a downstream section of each element pleat 34a of a filter element 34. This may bring each adjacent pair of the element pleats 34a into tight contact with each other. This reduces the air-permeability of the filter element 34, thus significantly lowering dust catching performance of the filter element 34.